Chair and Professor: Foster Professors: Adler, Bowen, Hjelm Associate Professors: Gabardi, Maughan, Nilson Assistant Professors: Anderson, Hogan, McBeth Adjunct Faculty: Winmill Affiliate Faculty: Pulling
The study of governments and human beings as decision makers is at once an ancient discipline and one of the most recently developed social sciences. Political inquiry reaches back to the recorded beginnings of human society, for individuals have always been curious about the nature of governments, the bases of authority and personality of leaders, the obligations of followers, and consequences of public policies. Although interest persists in these matters, inquiry has broadened to include scientific observations about politics which utilize relatively new techniques of analysis that are common to many of the social sciences. The newer emphasis is upon systematic procedures of investigation, rigorous standards of proof, comparative analysis and interdisciplinary studies.
Both of these approaches_the traditional and the behavioral_are offered in the undergraduate and graduate levels of study. The curriculum provides background in the theory and practice of politics and techniques of methodological inquiry for the student with general interests. It offers training of a general and specific nature that is useful for persons planning to seek careers in education, the legal profession, state and local government, urban and regional planning, the federal bureaucracy and journalism, or in any of the proliferating quasi-public organizations which seek to monitor the political processes or to influence the content of public policy.
The Department of Political Science offers programs leading to Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Public Administration, and Doctor of Arts degrees. Within the framework of the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs, students may pursue a major in political science or they may choose an emphasis in pre-law. There is no required or specified curriculum which students who emphasize pre-law are expected to follow. An advisory committee has been created to assist such students in developing a curriculum that reflects their individual needs.
In addition to the general requirements for the B.A. and B.S. degrees, political science majors are required to take the following courses from the "core curriculum":
POLS 101 Introduction to
American Government 3 cr
POLS 202 Introduction to Politics 3 cr
POLS 221 Introduction to
International Relations 3 cr
POLS g301 Political Parties and
Interest Groups 3 cr
OR
POLS g427 Voting and Public Opinion 3 cr
POLS 313 Introduction to
Political Philosophy 3 cr
POLS 331 Comparative Politics:
Framework for Analysis 3 cr
POLS g403 The Presidency 3 cr
OR
POLS g404 Legislative Process 3 cr
POLS g442 Constitutional Law 3 cr
OR
POLS g443 Constitutional Law 3 cr
POLS 460 Senior Seminar 3 cr
In addition to the 27 credits from the core curriculum, majors are required to earn a minimum of 12 elective credits selected from any of the courses in the political science curriculum (excluding POLS 459).
POLS 202 Introduction to Politics 3 credits. This class is an introduction to the fundamental issues in political science. Examples of topics covered include equality, majority rule, and the fact-value distinction. Required for all students majoring in political science. F
POLS 304 Tribal Government 3 credits. Examines complex legal position of Indian tribes as self-governing entities, principles of inherent tribal powers, tribal governmental organization, tribal lawmaking, tribal justice, relation to state and federal government. PREREQ: ANTH 220 OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR. D
POLS 308 State and Local Government 3 credits. Study of the institutions of state and local government in a behavioral context. D
POLS g403 The Presidency 3 credits. Evolution and development of the office of the President; its major responsibilities in domestic and foreign affairs, with emphasis on particular power problems that confront the President. F
POLS g404 The Legislative Process 3 credits. Nature and functions of the U.S. Congress. Topics covered: legislative campaigns, the politics of lawmaking, congressional investigations, and major problems facing the Congress. S
POLS g405 The Administrative Process 3 credits. Analysis of the principles of public administration with an introduction to theories of organization and administration. D
POLS g406 Intergovernmental Relations 3 credits. Analysis of patterns of intergovernmental relations including changing patterns of program and fiscal responsibility in the federal system. The emerging role of new federal structures, state and substate regional organizations will be reviewed in the context of "new" federalism and its implications for intergovernmental relationships. D
POLS g408 Metropolitan and Urban Studies 3 credits. Analysis of metropolitan and smaller urban systems with emphasis on relationships among general groups, political organizations and institutions. Federal, state and interlocal programs will serve as a focus for analyzing particular problems of metropolitan and urban systems in the 20th century. D
POLS g409 Community and Regional Planning 3 credits. Steps involved in planning will be analyzed in the context of community and regional decision-making processes. Two perspectives will be stressed: that of the decision-maker, the social structure within which the decision-maker operates, and strategies for implementing decisions; and that of the citizen or group interest which lies outside the power structure of the community. Each perspective will be used as a framework for analyzing power configurations, techniques of identifying patterns of decision making, and various forms of citizen participation. D
POLS g427 Voting and Public Opinion 3 credits. Analysis of the way citizens and government communicate with each other. Elections, public opinion, and media influence are studied. AF
POLS g453 Public Policy Analysis 3 credits. Theoretical and practical analyses of public policies, including theories of policy formation and their political implementation through governmental institutions. Case studies will provide the means of analyzing specific policy problems. D
POLS g455 Environmental Politics and Policy 3 credits. Study of the Political forces affecting environmental policy and investigation of several specific policies affecting the environment, such as: pollution control, energy production, hazardous chemicals, and the public lands. D
POLS g419 Political Research Methods 3 credits. This class investigates the theory and application of various research methods and statistical techniques common to the social sciences, with particular reference to their use in political inquiry. D
POLS g419L Political Research Methods Laboratory 1 credit. Application of and practice in research methods. D
POLS g451 Organizational Theory and Bureaucratic Structure 3 credits. Introduction to the study of complex organizations and organizational behavior in the administration of public policy. Emphasis on public institutions. PREREQ: POLS 405 RECOMMENDED. D
POLS g452 Financial Administration and Budgeting 3 credits. Emphasis on different approaches to financial administration, ranging from incremental and short-term planning to more recent and comprehensive emphases on management by objectives and zero based budgeting. The development of the Office of Management and Budget and its relationship with the President, Congress and the Federal Bureaucracy will be considered as well as political, organizational and behavioral constraints on budgetary decision-making. D
POLS g454 Public Personnel Administration 3 credits. Operations and processes of personnel management in public institutions. Major topics include personnel processes, public employee rights and duties, employee motivation and morale, the political environment of public personnel administration, and the impact of professionalism, technology, and participatory democracy on public personnel practices. D
POLS g456 Labor Organization 3 credits. Evolution of economic systems and labor's response to changing patterns of production is studied, and a counter perspective to traditional management views of "efficiency" is presented. Emphasis is on governmental employee unions. D
POLS g318 Topics in Political Theory 3 credits. This course requires examination, analysis and investigation of selected texts and topics in political philosophy. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits. D
POLS g411 American Political Theory 3 credits. Political ideas in the United States from Colonial and Revolutionary times through the controversies of the Civil War to the present. D
POLS g420 Contemporary Political Theory 3 credits. Recent 20th century political philosophies and theories ranging from democratic, Marxist, and existentialist thought to Critical Theory and postmodernism. D
POLS g421 Democratic Political Thoughts 3 credits. Historical and contemporary models of democracy as well as contemporary debates in democratic thought. Democracy is treated as a contested idea. D
POLS 326 Recent American Foreign Policy 3 credits. Study of recent American foreign policy focused on the interrelationship of domestic and foreign policies and the problems of formulating foreign policy in a democratic state. D
POLS g425 Topics in International Politics 3 credits. This course requires examination, analysis and evaluation of selected topics in international politics. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits. D
POLS g332 Comparative Politics: Change and Political Order 3 credits. The nature of political change is examined in a multifaceted framework consisting of concepts such as political order, progress and decay, revolutionary violence, and political culture. The technological and post-industrial revolutions are examined as they relate to political change and stability in developed societies. D
POLS g433 Politics of Developing Nations 3 credits. Study of problems in the political analysis of rapidly changing and unstable "developing" nation states with an emphasis on problems of the political, economic, and social development of selected states. D
POLS 249 Introduction to Criminal Law 3 credits. The major categories of criminal liability are studied within the context of American criminal justice. These include crimes against individuals, property, and society. Defenses available to those accused of criminal activity are also discussed. D
POLS 342 American Legal Systems 3 credits. Relationship of the judicial process to the American political process will be examined with emphasis on the various factors influencing the making of judicial decisions. D
POLS 345 Jurisprudence and Legal Systems 3 credits. Nature, source, and theories of law; the role of law in modern society; and the application of legal philosophy to the political system. D
POLS g442 Constitutional Law 3 credits. Analysis of opinions of the United States Supreme Court concerning the distribution of authority between the national government and the states and the relationship among the branches of the national government. F
POLS g443 Constitutional Law 3 credits. Analysis of opinions of the United States Supreme Court with a special emphasis on criminal cases and civil liberties. S
POLS g459 Government Internship 1-9 credits. Directed student internship in political science and organizations or associations related to public policy and the selection of public officials involving supervised work experience in research, staff management practices, or making and implementing public policies. The student will be placed in a supervised position commensurate with his/her abilities as determined and approved by faculty in the department. May be repeated up to9 credits. F, S, Su
POLS 460 Senior Seminar 3 credits. This seminar is designed to integrate undergraduate academic experience in the major. Students will be required to do research and writing on topics encountered in their undergraduate curriculum. Required of, and open to, senior majors. S
POLS g491-492 Seminar 1-3 credits. Research, reading, discussion, and the preparation of reports on selected topics. Ordinarily for seniors majoring in political science and having the instructor's consent. F, S, Su
Idaho State University Academic Information
Revised: April 24, 1996
URL http://www.isu.edu/academic-info/prev-isu-cat/ugrad96/arts/dps.html